Marlene is no standard movie star documentary. It is a mystery story, a discourse on truth and fiction, a battle with a sacred monster, a caustic comedy of errors, and the story of the making of a film all rolled into one. Despite personally selecting Schell to make the film about her, Dietrich soon fell out with the director but rather than be a liability to the film it is its saving grace, rescuing it from conventionality and turning it into a unique and richly entertaining record of an encounter with a real-life legend.